Dress up in your St. Pat’s Day finery and join thousands of people celebrating St. Patrick’s Day as a parade with 2,000 participants—including pipe and drum bands, Celtic musicians, stilt walkers, fabulous floats, vintage cars, multicultural organizations and more—turns the city green.

March 17, 11 a.m. | Starts at Howe and Davie, ends at Georgia and Granville

Information: www.celticfestvancouver.com

Nightlands

Dave Hartley, best known as the bassist for the War on Drugs, performs lush dream-pop from his second solo album, Oak Island. Listeners expecting a basic side project will be surprised by the depth of vision on the album; the songs are both rich and intimate, solid gold and outsider folk.

March 14, doors 8 p.m. | Biltmore

Fresh Water

The couple Nathan Barrett and Chala Hunter, who have worked together in theatres across Canada, wrote and perform in this play about a salesman intent on buying land from a feisty farm girl. Will they fall in love, or will she shoot him? This world premiere is produced by east Vancouver’s relatively new Railtown Cultural Enhancement Association.

March 14, 8 p.m. | Orpheum Annex

Tickets: $20/$15, northerntickets.com

Gordon Lightfoot

Considering the classics Lightfoot has given us — Early Morning Rain, If You Could Read My Mind, and Sundown, to name just a few — no wonder Bob Dylan once remarked, “Gordon Lightfoot, every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever.”

March 15 | Red Robinson Show Theatre

Tickets: $79.50/$69.50 at www.ticketmaster.ca

A Celtic Celebration

Steven Reineke conducts Canadian folk group Leahy and the VSO in a program of Celtic music that ranges from classics like Danny Boy to a medley of U2 hits. Leahy comprises eight brothers and sisters who have been playing music together their entire lives.

March 15 and 16, 8 p.m. | Orpheum

Tickets: $25 to $88, from vancouversymphony.ca or 604-876-3433

Harry Manx

The Salt Spring Island singer-songwriter blends blues, folk and Hindustani classical music at a show celebrating the release of his latest album Om Suite Ohm. Having spent many years in India learning musical patterns that form the basis of Indian composition, he combines the tradition of the blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. His Indo-blues hybrid has become his distinctive style.

March 16, 8 p.m. | Rio Theatre

Tickets: $35 at www.brownpapertickets.com

Margie Gillis: The Light Between

The world premiere by Montreal dance icon Margie Gillis took 25 years to create, as it distils a quarter-century dialogue between choreographer Gillis and painter/sculptor Randal Newman.

March 16, 8 p.m. | Vancouver Playhouse

Information: vidf.ca

Spirit of the West

One of the most beloved “legacy artists” in Canadian music history, the band that began as a folk trio called Evesdropper in Vancouver 30 years ago now have 13 albums to their credit and a dedicated following of fans from all over the world. The band is John Mann, Geoffrey Kelly, Hugh McMillan, Vince R. Ditrich and Tobin “The Gull” Frank.

March 16, 9:30 p.m. | Commodore Ballroom

Tickets: $34.50, from ticketmaster.com

Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

The Baddest Man on the Planet and nine-time heavyweight champion of the world claims he’s a changed man. Letting it all hang out during his Spike Lee-directed one-man show, Huff Post calls the puncher-turned-vegan’s show “raw, uncivil, and deliciously decadent.”

The Dutch violinist and his Johann Strauss Orchestra last year earned the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Tour chart, besting runner-up Justin Bieber, with waltz music. “Every night, I see what the waltz does to the audience,” says Rieu. “People get out of their seats and waltz in the aisles spontaneously. They sing, they smile and for a moment they forget all their worries and are happy.”

March 20, 8 p.m. | Rogers Arena

Tickets: $58.50-$154.95 at www.ticketmaster.ca

Vancouver Fashion Week

More than 40 local and international designers showcase their fall/winter collections during five evenings of runway shows. Tuesday’s gala opening party features a fashion presentation by Granville’s chic Boboli.

Catch an earful of music by B.C. composers at this annual festival, featuring ensemble-in-residence Turning Point Ensemble performing works written especially for them by nine composers (March 21) followed by two nights of mixed ensembles performing dozens of new and eclectic works by emerging and established B.C. composers.

March 20-24, 7:30 p.m. | Pyatt Hall, Orpheum Annex

Information: vancouverpromusica.ca/sonicboom

musica intima 20th Anniversary Concert

The acclaimed choral ensemble hosts a reunion, inviting all past members to join current singers for a concert that showcases its 20-year journey, from the first piece it ever performed, Sicut Cervus, by Palestrina, to recent favourites such as Birdsong, by Ed Henderson.

March 14, 7:30 p.m.: Heritage Hall

March 16, 7:30 p.m.: Norman Rothstein Theatre

Tickets: $15-$45, musicaintima.ca

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